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| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
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| Bonds Online |
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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
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S&P National Bond Index
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3.00% |
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S&P California Bond Index
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2.96% |
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S&P New York Bond Index
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3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
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0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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| Income Equities: |
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| Preferred Stocks |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
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848.03 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
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636.26 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
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1,701.05 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
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1,276.26 |
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| REITs |
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S&P REIT Index
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174.07 |
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S&P REIT Index (TR)
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425.30 |
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| MLPs |
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S&P MLP Index
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2,469.58 |
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S&P MLP Index (TR)
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5,428.50 |
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See Data
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How to Choose a Bond Fund |
For most individual investors, bond mutual funds are the easiest way to invest in fixed income securities.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - May 27, 2011 - by SmartMoney
Bonds and bond funds are an important part of a balanced investment portfolio. For most investors, the cost of building a diversified bond portfolio is prohibitive. Bond mutual funds are cheaper and more efficient.
In general, stocks and stock mutual funds provide higher returns than bond funds over the long term--but that higher return comes with higher risk. Bond funds tend to be less volatile than stock funds, and they can also provide you with a source of steady income.
Within the world of bond funds, there are also different levels of risk and return. Just as you'd want your first stock mutual fund to own a broad, diversified group of stocks, it's a good idea for your first bond fund to own a mix of government and corporate bonds, which have different levels of risk, perform differently in different environments, and offer different levels of yield. Of course, that still leaves you with a lot of funds from which to choose. Some of the factors you'll want to consider in choosing a bond fund are the same things you'd look at when choosing a stock fund. You can sift through funds here.
Here are some specific factors to consider when choosing a bond fund:
Start with expenses. Expenses make a big difference to any investor, but they're particularly important when you're evaluating bond funds. Bond funds tend to have lower potential returns than stock funds--which means the same dollar in expenses represents a bigger chunk of your potential return. Look for a fund with average or below-average expenses. The average expense ratio for an intermediate-term U.S. bond fund is 0.88%, according to Morningstar.
The lower the risk, the more expenses matter. Riskier bond funds have higher potential returns, but not necessarily higher expenses. Fund expenses are related to costs, not returns.
The lower interest rates are, the more expenses matter. Low interest rates mean your fund's income stream will be lower-- which also magnifies the impact of that expense ratio.
Understand a fund's credit risk. A bond is a loan; credit risk is the chance that the institution you're lending to won't pay it back. A U.S. Treasury bond is considered very low-risk, while corporate bonds are riskier. A-rated bonds are the safest, while anything below BBB is not considered an "investment grade" bond. Check the fund company's website, or the fund portfolio pages at SmartMoney.com to see both the fund's average credit quality and the actual mix of bonds behind that average.
For the complete article.
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| Stuff to look at |
Yield and Income Newsletter: A must have for income investors. subscribe NOW
S&P Commentary and Newsletters: S&P
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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